Cool scoop
Upcycled ingredient supplier and leader in plant-based, climate-friendly baking products Renewal Mill has partnered with Salt & Straw, claimed to be the world’s largest small-batch ice cream company, to create an exclusive vegan, chef-created flavour.
Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcake is made using Renewal Mill’s bestselling brownie mix and is aligned to Salt & Straw’s campaign to raise awareness that vegan is not only great for the planet, but can be great tasting, too.
The new flavour is a new addition to Salt & Straw’s Cupcakes by Vegandulgence limited series, available online and instore at Salt & Straw’s 25 locations across the US. It features a salted caramel frosting on top of Dark Chocolate Brownie cupcakes crumbled into a fleur de sel-spiked oat ice cream.
Renewal Mill’s brownie mix is a sustainably sourced vegan and gluten-free alternative to traditional flour-based baking mixes, handcrafted by a James Beard Award winning chef, Alice Medrich. It comprises upcycled organic okara flour, which Renewal Mill crafts by upcycling the soybean pulp generated during soymilk production which would otherwise go to waste and release greenhouse gases to intensify global warming. Okara flour is also a superfood, with superior nutrition and a neutral taste,
“According to leading research, around 1.3 billion tons of food gets wasted each year with much of it ending up in landfills and contributing to climate change,” said Caroline Cotto, co-founder of Renewal Mill, a women-owned and operated and based in Oakland, California.
“By improving the efficiency of our food system, Renewal Mill is helping ensure that the next-generation of eaters have a healthy planet and a sustainable future. Upcycling is about respect: respect for all the resources that go into growing and producing our food, and the people who do it. We are honoured to collaborate with Salt & Straw and help not only raise awareness about food loss and climate-friendly food options, but prove that eating sustainably doesn’t sacrifice taste.”
Co-founder Claire Schlemme added, “We are excited to expand our ever-growing portfolio of partnership products with Salt & Straw and welcome them to the upcycled food revolution.
“We have extensive experience working with novel ingredients and are committed to creating the next generation of food with fellow food industry leaders like the Salt & Straw team.”
Renewal Mill’s Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcake flavour is the first on Salt & Straw’s menu to feature okara flour.
“At Salt & Straw, we make some of the most indulgent and thoughtfully crafted vegan ice creams in the world,” said Tyler Malek, cofounder and head ice cream maker at Salt & Straw.
“Partnering with Renewal Mill was one of our most important initiatives in this menu because their products have captured that perfect mix of being revolutionarily thoughtful, as well as downright delicious. Their brownie mix is really, really good. We simply bake that mix off, slather it in a homemade caramel vegan frosting, and stud it into an oat milk ice cream to create one of the most delicious desserts you'll ever taste.... vegan or not.”
The frozen treat is available from Salt & Straw’s scoop shops in Portland, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and the Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, California. Pint packs are also available for online purchase and can be shipped anywhere in the US.